The League Of Legends
by James Klein
Summary: A series of chapters ranging in length that were originally created as a joke, but managed to transform into sentences of ideas and creativity and just something to pass time. The story grows a bit more serious with each following chapter which you will hopefully see too. Everything within these chapters is inspired by the mysterious lore of the popular game League of Legends.Enjoy
1. Day 1 The League Of Legends

**Day 1. The League Of Legends (Written)** **: (July 21st 2015)**

"Minions have spawned". The young apprentices had begun their spells and created minions to do their bidding to assist the champions on the fields of battle. A girl then let out a cute scream as the big muscle man Garen pulled over the golden haired Ezreal over by the shoulder saying "You really date that girl?" Ezreal shrugged it off and continued on his dirt path surrounded by trees while Garen quickly ran to the top lane and Master Yi began to meditate on the game plan in the jungle environment. "Okay guys, our top lane should be able to be our tank and push for the majority of the match, I will deal some mad damage and be sneaky, Lux you-" Yi was interrupted by the same girl yelling "MINION ARMY!" Yi with a sigh began to _try_ and explain that these minions are not invincible, and are mainly in the game as a source of income. He also explained she should be aware of the enemies which had gone missing from the radar. "I will be fine, I got my hyper beam" she spoke with a cocky attitude. Ahri in the mid lane had been doing really well when she heard a sharp crying scream. "MY MINIONS!" Braum almost began to cry at his home after hearing what happened at the scene as that scream was followed by an enemy double kill announcement. The group regrouped back at the base as Ezreal whispered to Lux "You know I love you and all, but you can be really weird sometimes". "WELL, I know that, but you still put up with me because I'm the cool kinda weird" Lux said as she skipped along the way much faster than the boy wonder Ezreal since she had purchased new boots. Everything had begun to go according to plan when all of a sudden Ez began to charge up the beam. Lux quickly reacted and began to charge her's in response, resulting in massive damage and a double kill for the boy wonder Ezreal. "No comment" was heard from Ezreal, as the two laughed together and began to chip along at the opposing minions. Garen hatched an idea and began to make fun of the boy wonder Ezreal. "Ez man, I think she's actually more of a man and better than you, just look at the way you dance and you stole her kills dude." Ezreal sighed and shrugged his shoulders and continued to do his job knowing victory was in sight. Another combo was heard from the one true pairing down below and at last the game finally ended. Immediately following the ending Lux was honored by all 5 opponents and called the team's carry, while Ezreal received one compliment from none other than the 0-9 Yorick saying "You are pretty good, but you got lucky buddy." The team said their goodbyes and left, as Ezreal began to walk Lux home to help her prepare for the next battle. "Ezreal...I have a very important question for you." "Go ahead Lux, this isn't the 1st time you've had this type of question" he responded very calmly. "It's going to be out of nowhere so bear with me, it's just, it's just that all this way on the walk home and during the battle I was wondering, which outfit do I look better in?" "The cute super pink trooper, or the mysterious wizard of the village?" "Lux you know you ask me this question at least once a day." She smiled response saying, "but it matters if we match!"


	2. Day 2 A New Hero Arrives

**Day 2. A New Hero Arrives** **(July 30th)**

Every time before a battle began in the League of Legends, the champions present carefully discussed positioning on the battlefield and the tactics that may be used. Most of the time the champions are willing to compromise and take hold of another position since that particular other champion feels less confident with the one they are left responsible for, unless you happened to be Demacia's star in the sky Lux. She was different, extremely different to be exact. Each night she'd practice to herself one simple line before bed. "Support, Bottom Lane, Lux, With Ezreal, I'm good don't worry." Each day she'd go into battle with the boy wonder Ezreal and she would recite that line before anyone else could say a single thing. Ezreal didn't even know how she managed to pull off the speedy statement. This occurred every day until finally Ezreal was needed elsewhere and Lux was needed in the League of Legends. Since she wasn't used to calling anything else, she called the same position as usual, just without saying Ezreal, however someone ironically had already stated the position with Ezreal. She hadn't noticed at first since she had always been the first and zoned out the rest of the conversation. "Excuse me sir, but I already said support and I always play support" Lux said in an unusual rare angry tone of voice. "Ha, I've never played anything but support, it would be truly outrageous if I were to play any other position with anyone else other than Ezreal located on the bottom sector." "Ezreal?" she said to herself, Lux began to become extremely worried. "Ezreal has been with someone else other than me?" "When I first joined the League of Legends, I actually brought Ezreal up to the council as another champion for the League. His skills are superior in many ways and so they invited him and he accepted the invitation". "We have been childhood friends since I can remember". "Three years ago I sadly had to leave as my dad called me back home to help him mine gems for an income source for the family." "It was then that I discovered my true passion for gems and I began my journey to become a gem knight." "I returned to the League today in search for my old partner Ezreal because I had decided to tell him my true feelings." "That I Taric the almighty Gem Knight lo-" Lux cut him off fearing what this, this guy is doing with his Ezreal. (Three years ago she and Ezreal had actually began dating). "Sir", Lux began in a quiet voice, "My name is Lux and I'll be your marksman until Ezreal returns". "Your story has touched me and I can physically see why you and Ezreal made a great team." "I want to hear about the stories of your adventures in the League of Legends if you would be kind enough to tell me". Lux had a hint of suspicion that Taric knew she and Ezreal were a team or had caught onto it and anxiously waited for his response hoping to learn more about the two but more importantly Taric. "Lux, I feel privileged to have you as a partner today and hope that you and I can become better friends through this experience." "Ruby for vigor, Sapphire for divinity, Opal for harmony, Emerald for insight." With that, the two began the walk to their lanes while the other teammates were left asking "LUX ADC?" Everything had been okay now. Both Taric and Lux were currently happy and Ezreal would be home soon. But would Lux mention Taric to Ezreal knowing this could mean less time between the two or worse, a reunion between the allies that could reboot the old partnership that once was a great one. Find out next time.


	3. Day 3 A Lore Revealed

**Day 3. A Lore Revealed.** **(August 12th 2015)**

Taric has just begun to tell his tale to Lux when of a sudden the enemy team had surrendered claiming her team's Wukong was using forbidden techniques. The two began their journey back home when all of a sudden the Wukong actually came sprinting up to the two out of nowhere. "You're Taric right?" he said hopping up and down in a joyful playful mood. "I remember you now, yeah, you're from one of the Legendary teams from when the League first began right?" "My master used to tell me all about you guys all the time when I first began training." "I think he said the group you were in was called the "T and E" connection and your motto was something like-" Taric filled the rest rest in for him "A bond that can never be broken". Taric then asked calmly "Wukong, is your master doing alright?" Coincidentally the Wushu monkey's master wasn't feeling his best. "You know I am a healer, I could help him and we could actually recap on things, maybe he know's what happened to Ezreal" Taric said. Wukong agreed to lead them through the Jungle to meet the master in exchange for a lightshow from Lux. At first she was very hesitate, partially because she had been thinking to herself and listening to their conversation, but more importantly because nobody had ever asked for a light show. "Since when did I start doing light shows?" she asked in a laughing matter. She had begun to laugh since this monkey is front of her could not stop laughing for a minute. "My master told me about you once too." "He said that during battle sometimes you would create a magical beam and directed the energy towards the sky". "You would hit a few starts on purpose and explosions would go off creating a lightshow." Lux then became very confused. Never once had she purposely created a light show. So she thought about it for a little and finally decided to accept his request, knowing it'd be _something_ for both of them. As usual she charged up this beam without any troubles and it went simply into the sky, striking Valor the bird in the process, however nobody noticed as the barrage of colors had stolen their attention. Wukong clapped for a little, and they began their journey after first apologizing to Quinn for "beaming her". She was unexpectedly okay though, claiming it hardly did any damage. She did however request a new outfit for the one that had been ruined. It was no problem at all though for Lux as she had many in stock and had always told Ezreal that they would come in handy one day. They had arrived finally after hours of walking, laughs from Wukong, stories from Taric, and travel shields from Lux for the rain above them. Finally they had arrived at their destination. Wukong grew his staff 30ft tall and climbed up towards the top of the hut in front of them. He vanished for a few seconds and a loud noise was heard behind the door. The door opened and the 2 walked in with Wukong nowhere to be found. It was dark and a loud constant humming noise continued to get louder the further they walked. Only a few lanterns provided light for the area until suddenly the door slammed shut and the room lit up immediately in a blinding green light. In front of them stood a few figures, a meditating, floating man, a yellow robot with steam coming out at different points on its robotic body, Wukong the monkey, and a living, breathing tree. All stood around the floating man, but directed their attention towards the new faces all with blank facial expressions. Without any clue of what was about to happen, the two stood speechless as a metal hand came towards their direction grabbing both Taric and Lux and pulling them towards it. The glow ceased to shine and everything became quiet as the man came down from his levitating position and stepped towards the Gem Knight and the Lady of Luminosity. He said with a smile, "Master Yi is my name, and **I** have been expecting you."


	4. Day 4 Master Yi

Day 4. Master Yi (August 19th 2015)

"Welcome" Master Yi said as he paced around on the wooden floor." "Please make yourselves at home" he said in a devious yet ironically calm tone. "Now then, let's talk about why you two are being held by a giant hand." "For the longest time I have had my apprentices follow you, proving me information on every move you made, every emotion you felt, and almost everything you did in general." "I continued to study this information day after day, battle after battle, until I finally came up with my own conclusion." While Master Yi had been talking, Lux had currently been shifting and struggling to get out of the yellow robot's metallic hand or to at least have a comfortable position. She never really found any relief, just a tighter grip in the process. "You know I don't like you" she said to the large robot, but only silence was it's reply. At that point she realized something important was actually about to happen and appeared worried at the moment. " _Taric_ , if that really is your name, I presume you are an undercover spy for Noxus and your real name is actually LeBlanc." The room was filled with silence as the word LeBlanc echoed throughout the wooden red hut. Lux was filled with _shock_. She herself had tangled with the master of disguise back in her day and those moments were not pretty. Could the blue gem knight next to her actually be a fake and part of a rival nation? _Taric_ then began in a loud confident "Lux, I understand if you want to believe the Wooshoo Master, but let me speak once more to you before you make a final decision on what to really believe." "I will not try to impress you, I have already told you my story, my rebirth, and my new mission." "If you choose not to aid me in my cause then I shall not hold anything thee, but, I can guarantee my mission will become much more difficult for me to find the man we both seek for." "Do what you must, thank you for the time we've spent together Lux." "It has been a ride I won't forget and I cannot thankyou enough for aiding me in my time of need." Yi became more aggressive after listening to this and gave his own _speech._ " _Lux,_ these goggles are not just for reading and are not a toy." "This _man_ suddenly showed up searching for one of Demacia's greatest heros after being gone for a period of time and yet he claims _he went home and changed._ " "Blitzcrank let go of her." After receiving the command the lifeless robot performed as it's owner desired, dropping Lux while still holding a strong grip on the Gem Knight. Wukong dashed to catch her and ease her fall as they were actually a few feet up in the air. Yi had waited enough and his anger had begun to show. "Lux, you are from Demacia, you yourself should understand the great danger that exists if a Noxian is granted access to Demacian cities, knowledge, and it's heros." "My patience is up and it's time for decisions to be made." "I will give you the decision to determine _his_ fate." "Shall he be locked away here from society for the the rest of time, or shall he be executed on that spot?" "I am wisest man in both Demacia and Noxus." "Both nations have come to me with problems and I have solved each problem, they both trust me so just find it in your heart to trust me this one time." "Ezreal has told me about how much you mean to him and I know how much he means to you, I can help you find him if believe me." At that moment a sudden earthquake occurred knocking everything in site as painting fell from walls and the sound of glass could be heard from the pottery that broke. The large 10ft _tree_ had come to life and proceeded to stomp towards Yi. "Master, is life not precious to you anymore?" it said in a very low loud tone of voice. "All this time you have taught me and the monkey patience and to treat life as something precious, but recently  you have become a different master trying to take matters into your own hands." "You yourself said you would remain neutral and let nature take it's course and decide what should happen regarding any problem, stay true to your word." The tree turned to Lux and spoke more calmly and in a quieter voice, "I might have spooked you, but I had enough of that man's talk." "He has changed from the great man he once was, my name is Maokai and you will see me again some day." "I wish you good luck on your _own_ mission." With that the tree burst through one of the walls and left, leaving the five speechless and a massive hole in the wall. Blitzcrank then spoke in his own robotic voice, "Life...Or….Death".


	5. Day 5 Part 1 of 2 An Unlikely Duo

Day 5. Part 1 of 2. An Unlikely Duo (August 20th 2015)

It had gotten dark in the hut as everyone waited for a reply from Lux. The pressure was on and she knew that one of Demacia's greatest opponents could prosper if she played her cards wrong. Lux wasn't really the type of girl that Ezreal had thought she was from past experiences with her. One day really stands out in his memory till this present day. ["EZ! Look it's a rainbow!" Lux said grabbing his hand and pulling him to see from a better angle. "Yeah that's pretty cool, I see them all the time back at my place." "I bet _you've_ never seen a "double rainbow" though" Ezreal said smiling in the cool breeze. She paused for a moment, "Double rainbow?" she said quietly. "Yeah they are really rare and you can only find them on the right day on the right month after the perfect rainstorm." "They really belong in a museum to be honest…" he continued softly. "Maybe one day you will finally see one for yourself, but for now I'm the only one who has ever se-" "EZ LOOK DOUBLE RAINBOWS!" she said in a tremendously loud voice that caused birds to fly out of trees and even the boy wonder Ezreal to jump out of sudden shock. "WHAT, WHERE" Ezreal said in an oddly excited yet worried tone of voice. She helped position him to a point where both could see the second colorful rainbow hidden above the first. "Lux this is amazing!" "This is crazy!" "How'd you notice it?" "Idk… it just kinda appeared there I guess, you sound a little more excited about this than me actually…" she said smiling as Ezreal couldn't take his eyes of the beautiful scene in front of him. He paused for a moment and look at Lux "Lux, I actually kinda made the whole thing up, I've never _actually_ seen a double rainbow, I didn't even know they existed…" he said somewhat sadly. "Ez, I figured you'd never saw one since you kinda, maybe, sorta, make things a bigger deal than they actually are. And sometimes you say some really silly things, like remember the time you told me you were a Demacian and you beat my brother Garen in a duel once?" "I DID TOO BEAT GAREN!" "I did live in Demacia too..for a couple days...but…" he continued with a sigh. "I guess you've finally caught up to me and started to figure out who I am." "I try to sound cooler so I can impress you sometimes because you are a cool girl, from a kingdom, A KINGDOM, and you have amazing powers and stuff." "I'm..I'm just a kid with some gadget he accidentally found." "Lux I'm sorry if I ever get carried away too much or show off or whatever you want to call it, for now on just tell me when I am and help me get rid of my bad h-" Ezreal was interrupted by a snore. "Lux I know I can be boring sometimes but-" he was stopped again. "You don't have to pretend to sleep." "Lux…...Lux…" Ezreal sighed. She had been listening, just in her sleep. She had sat down as her friend went on about how he wasn't a showoff. It had been a long day for the two and this is how the day was going to end. She had fallen asleep with her back against the stump of a tree on the green grass below. Ezreal waited a few minutes and laughed a little, this was the girl of his dreams that just fell asleep from his boring speech and while maybe it was a risky idea, he knew what he'd ask her when she would wake up. He sat down on the opposite side with his back against the tree and looked around for a bit. Felt the grass, breathed in the fresh air and just like his dream girl, he fell asleep. It had been a good day].


	6. Day 6 The Lady Of Luminosity Speaks

Day 6. The Lady Of Luminosity Speaks (August 20th 2015)

After many moments of silence and consideration, Lux had finally decided on what her answer would be. She hoped that with this response, everyone could have a happy ending. She took a deep breath and began. "Both of you are asking for my trust… so can you trust me?" "Let me put together a small team to help me find Ezreal, he'll know for sure whether this really is Taric or not." "And after I hear what he says, we can discuss the fate of the person standing in front of us." The participants took a few moments to digest what they had just heard. She had meant the greater good for each person standing in that room. The Gem Knight, The Wuju Blademaster, The Monkey King, and even The Great Steam Golem. She was serious about this matter at hands and was willing to work with anyone to meet her goal. Master Yi then gave his response, "Lux, after what you've just said and after the events of Maokai retiring from my Dojo, I myself feel bitter and broken." "I am not the wise man I once was proud of and so I must put together what once was a great icon for all." "However, before I can do that, I owe you my service." " _My blade is yours."_ Lux smiled and shook Yi's hand knowing she had gained one more powerful ally on her quest. "I am not a proud man myself" Taric then began. "This confrontation between friends was started because of me and due to this moment we have halted Lux's mission." "I owe her my gratitude for working things out here and know that Ezreal will certainly clarify that I am indeed this world's Gem Knight Taric." With that he slammed his hammer on the ground, her party had grown much stronger at that moment. She continued to smile knowing these two unlikely allies had just joined forces to aid her on her quest. Now while this had been going on, Wukong had been pacing around the room after her soon realised he was going to be left alone with the robot. Just as he was about to ask if he could come, Lux said "Yes." "Really, you mean it?" he asked holding back his excitement. "Yes of course Wukong, we could use someone like you to keep us entertained as well as aiding us in any battle necessary." Wukong sprung for joy, clapping and laughing. It was a truly merry time for everyone. Now only one thing was left before they could begin their quest for the ages. "Blitzcrank, that's your name right big guy?" Lux asked in a nice, sweet-hearted tone tapping him on the back. "Don't think I've forgotten about somebody like you, nobody could forget you even if they tried." "I've thought about you and since our party shouldn't be _too big_ on the journey so we don't create too much attention, I have an idea for you as well." "The kingdom of Demacia is always looking for new heroes to aid them in their conquest for glory". "I realize that you have such a unique talent, that maybe you might suit the ranks of the kingdom, but that's not the only thing I had in mind." "There is a man that I once heard about that may be in the kingdom depending on when we get there." "He is an expert engineer, the best at what he does." "He's an independant man who only takes tasks that he wants to complete, but I think you are an exception." "If we can find him, I do believe this man is someone that would take you in and accept you, he goes by the name Viktor." Blitzcrank's robotic eyes changed to a more bright lime green color and he spoke one understandable word, "Father". "Now with that all taken care of, before we can journey and adventure, we must submit a request to the Great king of Demacia". "Once he approves of our request, then we may go, this gives us time to purchase and gather any needed equipment and we can also rest and possibly gather information on Ezreal's whereabouts". "We can also drop Blitz off at the workshop and just grab something to eat, so yeah any questions?" Lux asked smiling. Everyone was frozen, Yi fell over, Taric couldn't believe all that she had spoke and had been rubbing his eyes, and Wukong had gotten lost after she said the first three words. They cleaned the Dojo knowing they would not return for maybe years. The party then made their way to the Great Kingdom of Demacia. It wasn't too far from Yi's Dojo and they had plenty of stories to tell along the way to pass the time. Blitzcrank actually even said a few things here and there and he even expressed what looked to be a smile at one point. They then made their way to the palace and soon received access to the king's throne room. "Wukong, you should probably wait outside with Blitz, he can get a little grabby and I don't know if the King would appreciate a very friendly hug" Lux said. Lux, Taric, and Yi then walked past the guards through the opened doors and came to a complete hault. Taric had been kneeling on the ground a few feet behind them shedding tears in awe of the sight of the golden throne and the majesty of the king sitting upon his throne in a room full of every color imaginable. Paintings and statues of great heros of every kind filled the room as Taric cried out " "Dear Lord!...I can't believe that this...this...moment would happen to a group of people such as ourselves, I almost have no response except to stare in awe of your highness." He hid his face in shame of his tears of joy. "Yeah it's _something..._ you get used to it after a while" Lux said as Jarvan III welcomed them in a loud voice of authority "You may now stand in the presence of your king, I presume the three of you have come to me with the same motivation, to find The Prodigal Explorer known as Ezreal".


	7. Day 7 Demacia: Land Of Heroes

Day 7. Demacia: Land of Heros (August 24th 2015)

"With all due respect my king, how did you know we were here for him?" Lux asked King Jarvan III sitting upon his throne. He responded truthfully, "It appears my son has also gone missing, along with Ezreal and three of Demacia's greatest heros, Galio, Xin Xao, and the little yordle Poppy." "Now while missions can take longer than expected, we can no longer expect them to return and idly sit by with no action taken, I think we can both agree on that." He slammed his fist on his throne, "We need to act **now**!" "We've sent word to Noxus asking for the return of our heros in exchange for any reward they demand, however they claim they have no ownership of the heros and wish to remain out of the situation." "We have already contacted a man in the Freljord who goes by the name of Braum." "He is the sworn protector of the lands and claims that "he would know if they were in his lands since living with his mother caused him to memorize the land he lived on." "She would have him go outside each day to collect firewood and mend the farm." "As a last resort we have begun to post rewards for any independent travelers who may know of the whereabouts of our friends." "Though we wish not to cooperate with any pirates, we have reached out to them in as well taking all means necessary." "I believe it is more than fate that has brought you here today, we both are in search for our friends, let us work together". This about summarized the rest of the conversation between the king and the group as he gave them any information he had and recommended they visited the nearby Inn where the champion selection and diversity was vast enough for them to find someone to suit their party's needs. The king then granted Lux her request, permission to begin the search for Ezreal. With that, the three said their goodbye's to the great king of Demacia and headed towards the Inn since it had been getting late. It was worth a shot to recruit as well. As they left the throne room, they noticed a large crowd in the center of the square. Inside this crows had been the two others from the dream team party. Everyone that had gathered in the crowd have never seen something such as exotic as Blitzcrank the robot, as Wukong sat upon his hand 45 feet in the air. Along with that, Wukong himself was able to perform vanishing tricks, as well as grow his staff 20 feet tall. The crowd had been amazed and didn't plan on leaving anytime soon. Lux made her way to the center of the crowd and with impressive strength she dragged the two out as Wukong insisted he needed to stay claiming he had found his true profession and didn't think he was really cut out for all the fighting business. "Maybe next time, but right now we have a job to do" she told him as a mother would. "You mean save your lover right?" he responded. Now while the crowd had dispersed, a suspicious hooded man still had been standing there after the performance. After a shockwave of noise was heard from the slap Lux gave to Wukong, his bird flew away. As they continued to the Inn, Wukong's pockets and pouches had actually been jingling from the money they had earned from the crowd spectacular. Before entering the Inn the group considered how the owner at the time would respond to the big yellow robot squeezing into the small door puffing steam out. They went in anyways knowing they could simply say it was for heroic work or something likewise. However the owner didn't freak, she was actually very calm about it. "I don't think the regular size room is going to fit all 5 of you, so you should probably stay in one of the larger rooms we have." "Enjoy your stay at the charmed Inn!" she said with a charming laugh herself in her red attire. While Yi and the other two stayed upstairs in the room, Taric and Lux decided to relax in the lobby in hope of some information from a journeyer or adventurer. As this was happening and the fireplace continued to glow it's dark orange color. the owner came up to their booth. "As odd as it may sound, you guys are searching for the missing Demacians aren't you?" she asked. "We actually are, you wouldn't happen to have any information would you?" Taric replied to the charming girl in front of her. Lux had become suspicious, she was _too_ friendly. At that moment she noticed that the girl had a white tail, well actually nine tails. "Ezreal wouldn't happen to be one of these missing heros… would he?" she asked Taric in her soft-hearted voice with a worried face placing both her hands on Taric's hand. "Yes he sadly is, we are going to find my partner though, I have sworn that I shall search high and low for him and save him from whatever evil has troubled him." "That is my job as the gem knight of this world, I want to save him and finally confess my lo-" Lux stomped on Taric's foot underneath the table. "You never answered his question" Lux then stated. "Do you or do you not have any information on the whereabouts of the heros?" The girl's tails began to slowly sway from side to side and Lux had finally noticed two pointed edges on the ribbon on the girl's head. "I'm sorry, I just got caught off guard thinking about that charming boy". With that said Lux pulled the ribbon on the girl's head which revealed two cat like ears. This was no ordinary girl anymore, no, "YOU are Ahri, the nine-tailed fox!?" Taric claimed in a barbaric fashion slamming both fists and the hammer on the table rumbling the entire building. Lux was confused. Ahri then whispered to the two, "keep it down, the owner of the inn doesn't want people knowing I'm a fox, he says some customers find that really weird and it scared people away." "Come with me", she walked towards a trapdoor in the floor behind the bar and the three went into the dark cellar faintly lit up with a few torches. "I am indeed Ahri the nine-tailed Fox as your Gem friend stated, and you must be Ezreal's….Lover?...Yes?" She smiled.


	8. Day 8 A Charming Evening

Day 8. A Charming Evening. (August 28th 2015)

"WHY WOULD YOU ASSUME THAT?!" Lux yelled as the fox girl placed her hand over her mouth as her ears twitched for a moment after that noise, "We have to be quiet, I have guests remember?" Lux nodded and Ahri removed her hand. "While maybe it wasn't important for me to know, your response is good enough of an answer for me!" Ahri laughed again. "Well okay, I want to guess you can help us out?" Lux asked noticing the true beauty of the fox in front of her. Taric had been speechless the entire time while staring at Ahri. It even appeared as if he had not blinked since he met her. Before Ahri could respond, Taric then spoke. "Ahri, the beauty of your gems...it touches me right in my heart." "They look so truly...truly…... **truly** outrageous." Lux gasped and slapped Taric leaving him with a red handprint on the side of his cheek. "Taric you've known the girl for like 10 minutes and you have the nerve to talk about her boo-" Ahri cut her off there. "I get compliments like that all the time Lux, but I think your friend is talking about my real gems I got from a merchant who came from Bilgewater." Taric, still with a visible hand print, spoke once more to correct Lux's misunderstanding. "You see Lux, I would never talk about a woman in such a fashion, I travel the world in search of my friend Ezreal as well as Gems." "Gems are **TRULY** outrageous." Lux was embarrassed, but she didn't let that distract her from gaining any information on the boy wonder Ez. "Ahri, can you help us?" She thought about it for a while, "I can, but I have to ask something of you." "Yeah what is it?" "Do you have any other...men in your group besides this big handsome man Taric?" she shyly asked. "Well there are three others..well two actually.. but yeah, why?" "One of my greatest advantages in battle is my charm, and I don't want to be too much of a distraction for you guys." Lux forced a laugh. "Haha, I can't really control these guys, but I'll do whatever I can to keep them going googly eyes on you." The two then nodded and walked back to the extra large room above on the second floor. "I would like you guys to meet the newest member of our team, the nine tailed fox, Ahri!" Lux said. With that the group's faces showed their reaction. Yi was perfectly fine as he was meditating in his levitating green aura above the floor, Blitz hadn't changed at all, and Wukong, well Wukong had turned into stone. Ahri giggled and Lux shook her head sadly.


	9. Day 9 The Night Before The Storm

Day 9. The Night Before The Storm (August 29th 2015)

"Ahri, you should probably go take care of your inn and make sure things are set in place since we are going to be gone for who knows how long" Lux said hoping to help out her stone monkey king. "You are right, holler if you need me!" she laughed as she went out the door and down the stairs. "Wukong she's gone now, why are you made of stone?" Master Yi hopped down from his meditating status "Well being the wise man that I am, I presume our friend is what they call...love sick." Wukong then converted back to his old self and stormed out of the room. "Next time shouldn't you ask before you start letting people join?" "I'm going for a walk" he said in anger and left. "I wonder what really happened" Lux said to the others as they all stood staring at the door. It was 6:30 in the afternoon, the lights were lit up amongst the city street in the square outside and the shops lined up along the street were packed with people of all types. The fountains had been lit and conversation was heard all throughout the area from the happy citizens looking to have a good time and maybe to purchase something unique. "Before we get going, we should all be equipping ourselves with the best equipment we can afford." "And…" she looked at Blitz "Since we have all this extra money, we should be able to afford many options" she said. "We should actually try to divide up the tasks, I'll focus on clothing, Taric you can focus on extras and potions that will give us an extra advantage, and Yi you should focus on weaponry for the crew." They all agreed that Wukong would be in charge of the food and Blitzcrank would be the "storage keeper" until he left. "I'll go look for him, if you leave the Inn make sure you are back before it gets too dark" she told them all. With that she went down the stairs "Ahri, when does your shift end?" Lux asked her, "In a few minutes my back up comes in for the night shift, why what's up?" Ahri replied. "Let's have a girls night out tonight, I wana talk to you about something anyways and we can hang out for once." "Sounds like a plan!" Ahri said, "I'll be outside in just a few." Lux had been waiting outside the door to the inn thinking about how she would bring about the Wukong situation. Ahri came outside with different pink clothing on. "Sorry I took a little, I wanted to match for tonight and I had to make sure the backup knew what his job actually was" Ahri said wagging her tails. "You know, I could get used to you" Lux told her smiling. The two began a walk down the lit up street in the direction of the many booths set up. They walked past many unique merchant tables, booths, displays, and many more attractions that drew people in. Some of the more memorable ones include: "Kench's Grub", "Bard's outdoor paradise", "Teemo's boy scout cookies", "Lulu's sweet treats", "School of Ryze", "Dr Mundo's medicine and spices", "The Viktorious engineer" and "T.F. trading cards Inc." There was a booth for any type of personality. It was a sight you had to see for yourself. The two decided to visit "Kench's grub" for a meal to "Fill you up and keep your tastebuds happy". The interior was unique, it felt as if you actually were from the more countryside location. The little booth offered almost anything your heart and tastebuds could desire. The menu ranged from hundreds of different burgers, to fresh alligator meat. Lux and Ahri chose two stools next to the bar that kept them from sitting next to the huge man with a keg in one arm and an enormous turkey leg. The two were talking to each other as the chef of the house came to them. "WELCOME TO KENCH'S GRUB" the rather large cat fish looking man stated. "Tonight exotic meat is our special, it's actually of the greatest I have ever served on my menu." "I'll be back in jus er minut er to ladies, yell mah name Tahm if ya need meh righ away." Tahm said as the two looked at each other trying to hold back their laughter. They looked over the given menus as Ahri asked "Are you thinking the same thing I am?" Lux was confused herself. In the past, Ezreal had helped her learn new foods, she was still used to the royalty meals her family would always eat, so she had not too much knowledge about foreign food. "Lux, you okay there?" Ahri asked as Lux was daydreaming and staring into the distance. "Yeah, yeah I'm good, I say we get some exotic meat!" she said pounding her fist on the counter. Ahri paused for a moment and then burst out laughing. "Jeez I didn't expect you to say that!" "I figured you'd want something simple or wouldn't even eat anything on the menu cause I thought your royalty and your personality as a bourgeois Demacian would kick in." "I thought you'd be more spoiled, but you are okay, I could get used to you too." Ahri said with her arm around Lux's neck. Lux was mad for a moment about the "spoiled comment" but she laughed as well since she could understand where Ahri was coming from with that statement. Tahm Kench came back over their seated position. "Are you _ladies_ readeh to order yet?" "We'd like the special!" they said together which left Tahm with a shocked face and having him speechless, but he smiled. "You _ladies_ must really have worked up an appetite!" He turned to the rest of his crowd. "WE'VE GOT TWOOOOOOO YOUNG LADIES OVER HERE WHO HAVE ORDERED THE SPECIAL!" "CAN WE GET A ROUND OF APPLAUSE!?" the big man roared. People began to pour into the booth and filled it to its maximum capacity, any more and it would have burst. Tahm disappeared for a moment for a moment and came back with the largest plate that either of the two had ever seen. People began to cheer and pound on tables and counters chanting "MEAT!" in a synchronized fashion. Tham then placed in front of them a piece of meat that looked as if it weighed more than the two of them. "If you finish that there whole piece, you get your meal for free as well as free food for a year at Kench's Grub!" Tahm told them. He then pulled out very small reading glasses. "Now before you two dive in, I am required to read this here little piece of paper telling you where it's from." "This is a rare meat, a rare meat from a wild boar only found in the land of Noxus that was prepared here in my kitchen by my very hands." "I am a traveling chef and during my visit in Noxus I obtained this meat with the help of two brothers, Darius and Draven." "I then traveled here with it." "You must fill out these forms claiming you understand you know what you are getting into" "Do you have any questions?" "CAN WE GET SOME WATER!?" the two yelled.

The two stumbled home as if they were drunk. They're bodies were so full that it hurt to walk. They had bellies that were larger than men's who consumed enough alcohol and got beer bellies. They were stuffed, stuffed more than a turkey on thanksgiving. They had both gained at least 10 pounds that night. The two returned to the inn and even needed someone's help to open the door. There Ahri waved to the man standing behind the counter, Yasuo, letting him know she was home. He nodded his head and continued to play his flute. They slowly made their way up the stairs, Lux gave Ahri a very soft hug and the two went to their own rooms. As Lux went in, Yi was the only one awake and immediately asked "WHAT ON EARTH HAPPENED TO YOU?!" Lux sighed. "We ate the special at Kench's" "Did you guys beat his challenge?" "Everybody knows about his challenge but only 1 person has actually beaten it." Lux sighed again. "We only ate about ⅛ of the entire thing." Yi started cracking up. "We did get shirts for trying though and putting on a show, it brought business in" she said. The shirt read "Kench's Grub challenger" with a picture of Tahm holding two forks and he had a chef hat and an apron. ""Where's Wukong at?" she asked remembering she was supposed to ask Ahri about him. "He fell asleep in the other room, I wouldn't wake him though, just let the boy sleep." Yi laughed and Lux smiled. "Have a goodnight" Yi told her and the two fell asleep for the night. It had been an exhausting day but yet an eventful and productive on for all. The gear had all been purchased including Wukong's job as Yi gave him the word when he returned. Tomorrow after parting ways with Blitz, they would officially begin their journey. Lux that night had a dream that involved Ezreal. It was one of the best dreams she had ever had as they spent time together and she hadn't seen him in forever. "Lux..wake up" he told her. "Lux it's time to get up, come on girl" he told her again. "Lux come on wake up!" she did this time and realized it had been Wukong talking to her to get up with an expression on his face she had never seen. "You got to come downstairs now, we heard a loud crash and everyone is down there." "I wanted to wake you up because you are a strong sleeper" he said. The two quickly ran down the stairs and arrived at a scene. There had been a hole in the roof and on the wooden flooring stood an armored man holding a spear in his right hand and a shield in his left while debris had been scattered throughout the entire inn. He had a ripped cape and had been kneeling on the floor. As Lux and Wukong made there way into the inn to get a little closer, the armored man turned his head to her and he stood up, with one of his hands at his side covering a wound, once he had instantly noticed and recognized Lux. He said in her direction, "My party and I were... ambushed and I... I know where... Ezreal is."


	10. Day 10 Black Friday: A Gang's New Adv

Day 10. Black Friday:

A Gang's New Adventure

(Production began December 14th) ( Published: January 4th 2016)

Her heart stopped for an entire minute as she had finally heard what she wanted to hear for days. Time ceased to continue around her as she was left with this eventful scene in front of her. She was selfish, and took this moment to ignore everything else going on and focused solely on this one pleasure she was experiencing for herself. However, she soon came to the realization that she had only gotten information and not actually done a single thing yet. Ezreal was still missing. She left her state of mind and finally fully realized that the man kneeling in front of her was badly injured with wounds from head to toe. His chest piece had sustained a major blow near his heart and blood stains could be seen across his body. The warrior wore a steel helmet with a red feathers covering the top of it, around his neck is a teal cape with many holes throughout it hinting at many unpleasurable visions. Covering his chest was an orange armored chest piece connected to a blue armored tunic around his tree trunk sized thighs. He was clutching a shield in his left and a mighty spear in his right. "He is known throughout the lands of Valoran and was a member of the Rakkor tribe who were natural born warriors lethal with not only just bare hands, but also with their dangerous relic weapons." "Pantheon cares not who he fights, but lives only for the austere glory of battle." Yasuo still remained seated behind the counter while speaking this. "Wow, do you just read history books when you go home?" Ahri said to him smiling. That smile soon changed to a frown shortly after considering she would have to explain not only the mess, but also the scene and the broken roof. "ATTENTION EVERYONE!" "As of now the inn is temporarily closed" she said to the ever growing crowd of people. "We hope you understand the situation and come back soon". One by one they all left except for a taller man holding an unusual hammer. "So… no refunds?" he asked sadly. "No refunds" Ahri replied smiling. "Are you sure you can't give me something?" the man winked as he was speaking. Ahri smiled back, "No Jayce you aren't getting anything, you try this like once a week". Jayce scratched the back of his head and winked once more, "Aww come on girl can't I just get a kiss this one time?" "You owe me for my money being wasted" he said as he brushed his hair back. Yi began to feel something he had never felt in his life. Something so unusual that he didn't have a word for it. "This is very awkward" Taric spoke for everyone not involved in their scene. Yi patted Taric on the back of his shoulder as Ahri chased Jayce out of the building throwing pots and pans at him. Pantheon groaned in pain and the gang huddled up around him. "I the Gem Knight am a healer" Taric proclaimed righteously. "Everyone stand back!" Everyone did as he raised his enormous gem hammer in the air and it began to glow green and emitted a little green aura around Pantheon for a brief second. Pantheon suddenly yelled louder and with great force he threw his spear towards the Gem Knight. Quickly Yasuo leaped over the counter and dashed towards Taric and with a quick slash he created a wind wall completely shielding Taric from the incoming projectile as it vanished in the white vapor. Lux shrieked as Yasuo and wukong sprinted towards Pantheon to withstrain him before he actually hurt someone beyond Taric's repair. Yi then drew his blade instantly and looked to strike if the Artisan of war made any sudden movements. Yasuo noticed Yi pondering to himself, "You seem to have a clue as to what's going on, what is it Wuju Blademaster?" he asked angrily holding Pantheon against the wooden wall. "While I began to doubt myself, I see it's the only answer as to what's going on". He sighed. "He's been given a nightmare by Nocturn." Instantly following that, Pantheon pointed directly towards Lux and shouted at a ground trembling volume, "YOU!" "YOU ARE THE CAUSE OF ALL OF THIS!" The room went silent.

Ahri came back inside the room and noticed everything had gone completely silent, but more importantly, Lux was crying. "What happened" Ahri asked, however nobody responded. After a few moments of absolute quiet, a small voice was heard. "It was my fault… wasn't it? I am the cause of Ezreal's disappearance?" "I'm the reason for the ambush of the heroes?" "I'm the-" she paused for a few moments. "You know what forget about all of it" she said as she walked out the Inn with an unusual look of anger mixed with confusion upon her face. Nobody said a word. Yi decided to take things into his own hands before anything else crazy happened. "Yasuo, can you sit with Pantheon and speak with him on the ambush or anything in particular other than spear throwing?" Yi asked. Yasuo nodded and went upstairs knowing he could handle anything else Pantheon threw at him. Mentally or Physically. "Ahri, work on getting everything at your inn under control, including the big mess in the ceiling". "On it" she replied with a smaller smile than usual. "Wukong, you have the charisma unlike anyone else." "I want you to see if you can settle Lux down and at least get her talking and bring her down back to earth." "Yo I'm the right monkey for the job" he said clapping his hands. "And Taric, I want you to go get any information you can on nightmares or Nocturne in general." "I may know a lot, but nightmares are not my specialty" Yi said. "I will collect every nugget of information as if they were even Gems!" Taric proclaimed walking out the door. "What are you going to be doing during all this?" Ahri asked while moving debris from the room. Yi paused for a moment and then looked directly at her with a look of determination upon his face. "I'm going to find a man who will help us." "He is known as the first of many, the true Machine Herald." Yi stood up straight and walked until he reached the doorway bringing Blitzcrank with him. "Everything will soon change, hopefully for the better."

The sky had begun to darken as clouds came in from all directions quickly. The metal boots of the Gem Knight continued to echo up and down the streets as he searched for anything he deemed worthy of knowledge. An hour passed by and still no luck. Thunder then cracked in the distance and raindrops began to drip down from the onyx sky above. Soon everyone would be inside their homes, warm and sheltered. Time was running out. A loud laughter was heard nearby and by instinct Taric ran gasping breath towards the noise. At last he finally reached the scene around the corner revealing two men boasting in the rain. Taric stood closeby preparing his questions for the bearded faces. "If you're buying, I'm in!" The rather large man with a casket spoke. The other man wielding two axes in his back pocket yelled back at the other standing right next to him, "Ha!" "The worth of a man can be measured by the length of his beard and the girth of his belt buckle!" The two bearded figures laughed louder and louder until finally another "manly" figure came out of a building nearby carrying a rather large 12 foot table in one arm and a longsword he dragged in the other. The man with the casket then burst out yelling and stumbled over his words, "Let's get this party started!" The city was about to undergo the strongest drinking competition. The participants included Olaf "The Berserker" who was known for his great endurance. Up next was Gragas, "The Rabble Rouser", who was talked about around the lands for drinking 2 gallons of ale a day. And lastly, Tryndamere "The Barbarian King", who never had lost an arm wrestling contest with his right arm. Nobody knew his secret, but everyone knew his left hand was weaker than his right. "This'll be a slaughter" he yelled placing three large wooden cups on the table. "Finally some fun" Olaf yelled as well. Taric had seen enough and with pride he walked up to Gragas smelling the ale from his breath he has consumed. "Sir it appears you have what seems to be a drinking problem" Taric claimed in a kind way. Gragas slammed his fist on the table shaking everything and looked back at Taric directly in his eyes. "The only time I have a drinking problem is when I spill it!" "Gragas, give the kid a break" Olaf laughed patting Taric on the shoulder. "Not everybody knows your strength remember, he must be from out of town" Olaf continued. "This is simply outrageous!" "What man takes pride in the amount of alcohol his body can consume?" Taric claimed. "I do, and I'll drink you under the table scrub!" Gragas replied. The Gem knight looked at the table, then back at Gragas, then once back at the table. "Get some" he laughed at Taric and the three members began preparations for the challenge. Taric was a man of pride who had always respected everyone, but he could not get the drunkard off his mind and see things from his perspective. He finally made up his mind. "You are nothing more than glass, waiting to be smashed" he said while smiling. "Don't get pushy" Gragas laughed back. "I wish to participate in this challenge" Taric said. "As you wish" Tryndamere replied handing him a cup. Taric carefully held the cup up to his nose and it brought a shocking scent. Gems. It reminded him of mining with his father back home, the smell of crushed gems. "Happy hour incoming!" the big man yelled as belches were heard from him in the rain coming down from above. "The last one to stop drinking wins!" Olaf explained the simple rules to the men and began to countdown from three to one and the challenge officially began as Taric courageously consumed a small amount and slowly but surely everything went dark.

The sound of falling rain began to get softer and softer until finally it was completely gone and only an occasional drip was heard falling into a pool of precipitation, that's what it sounded like at least. Ironically things still smelled terrible, but perhaps even worse than before. It was such a disgusting smell that you could taste it in your mouth and the scent found it's way down your throat. "Ugh" The Gem Knight groaned sitting up and rubbing his head. He quickly noticed his hammer was gone and began to fumble around in the pitch black environment for his weapon of choice. "Is anyone there?" Taric yelled in fear of the absolute dark surrounding him. A few moments passed until finally something happened. A candle was lit in the middle of the room and a small devious voice was heard throughout the room from an unknown direction. "Well, well, look what the pipes washed in." The sound of quick feet were heard until complete silence was back again. Taric moved to the center of the room with light from the candle, "Where is my hammer, and more importantly where am I?" he asked politely yet worried. "What's your's is mine" the evil voiced said. "And more importantly you are in my home now…"


	11. Day 11 An Insidious Plague

Day 11. An Insidious Plague

(February 23 2016 )

The wet muggy drips of the liquid continued to echo around the room of unknown size. These drips remained the only assuring noise to Taric reminding him he was still indeed alive and this was not a dream. The question still remained though as to how he had arrived at this location as the words "Happy hour incoming" echoed sharply throughout his head. More importantly however, he still needed a plan of escape and needed to meet his possible kidnapper head on and face to face. He cleverly began to slowly pace around in the room to measure the area he was currently held in while also searching and feeling around in the darkness for anything other than wet sludge. While he had some light in the middle of the room from the small candle, it wasn't nearly enough to uncover the ominous darkness surrounding him. After he was a little more familiar with the surrounding environment, he then began to reach around the ceiling just as before for anything of use. A song slowly emitted from the mouth of the Gem knight during his search: "I hear the sound of the world calling my name and my eyes begin to burn and start to ignite such a glorious flame." "If you cannot stand, then take my hand, and I will rise to fight by your side". "Flowers that are growing from the earth by their stems are as beautiful as a cave's colorful gems." "Everyone is a sapling waiting to sprout and I shall be there to water them, no doubt!" "Nature is a gem, just like a big frog is a little tadpole and I shall prevent all mayhem, and defend every needy soul.." As he spoke this he had placed his right hand on heart and had been gripping tightly. Another musical note began to tune along with him from what sounded as a violin and it continued to slowly and slowly get louder from an odd direction. Directly underneath him. Quickly thinking, Taric continued to sing his mighty song and neglected the noise until the music was felt rumbling the ground he stood on. The vibrations echoed off all the walls and the sound grew louder and louder until finally everything went silent just as it appeared something was about to happen. Complete silence followed this scene and Taric began to shiver in fear. So much so that his armor began to rattle around his body like the sound of an aluminum trash can when all of a sudden the music began again, this time a quicker pace to the beat of footsteps on the sidewalk. Just as before it grew louder and louder, but this time a faint voice following it up. "Could you please repeat that?" Taric asked and almost instantaneously the ground began to rumble underneath him again and something loud began to rattle on the floor. A magnificent "pop" was heard from the ground as the sound of metal contacting the ceiling was heard above and the noise then followed as it was heard repeatedly around on the ground behind. Suddenly candles, much like the one in the middle of the room, began to burn scattered around the room in no real pattern and the sound of the violin grew even louder with the sound of suspension being present. "Whatever you are doing is not frightening me" Taric yelled out in a direction. The quick sound of feet began to grow more constant and more and more candles began to be ignited as the room actually became visible. Noticing something out of the corner of his eye Taric turned around and witnessed a puff of smoke as the vapor ascended and vanished. "I do not understand your childish behavior, what is it you want?" Taric said as he began to grow restless. "Child?" the voice said in a confused voice with laughs following it. "I was once a good child" it laughed again. "Do you need assistance mysterious voice?" "I am a healer and could aid your problem" Taric said quieter. "Problem!?" it yelled furiously which turned into a small snicker. "Being a problem is the greatest compliment I've ever been given". Before Taric could speak, a quick flash appeared in front of him and a piece of paper began to float down from the air. Grabbing at the white paper as it bounced clumsily between his hands, he finally took possession of it and read the scribbled handwriting. "~Go down the latter, and you will find your hammer~". Towards the bottom it read, "I rhymed just like you Taric, we aren't too different you an I". Behind Taric lied the answer to all his questions. A manhole, a sewer, a tunnel, whatever you called it, you knew what the idea of it was. To go down. Seeing no other alternative routes, the Gem Knight pulled up his shiny metal boots and fastened his gloves. He adjusted his chestpiece and brushed back his long hair and began the descension down the latter not knowing even if it had been a good idea in the first place. He had almost no means of defending himself against any dangers and now would be in new and unfamiliar territory, but that didn't hinder his confidence as he continued to descend into the endless abyss. One of the many memories of his father guided him through this situation. It was a thunderous night in the mines and Taric and his father had been 1,000ft underground after attempting to excavate a legendary golden gem. After hours of mining the earth and its outer shell, the proud family finally achieved their goal, but darkness has already begun to devour the light. The lamps were diminishing and they had suddenly lost vision of their escape rope against one of the cave walls. A massive crackle of thunder and lightning struck the roof of the deep hole and the young boy shrieked. "Father we're going to die if we don't quickly do something" Taric said. His father stood, calm and smiling. Again the boy cried out, "Father please I'm scared!" "How can you be so joyful at this time?" the boy asked crying. His father then called him over and wrapped his arms around the little boy. In a cheerful low voice he said, "Taric my son I will let you in on a little secret". He then slowly whispered in his ear, "Emerald for insight". The boy looked puzzled for a minute as his father then continued, "Opal for harmony". "Father there is a deadly storm circling above our heads." "The words being delivered to me from your mouth serve no purpose". His father laughed an old man laughed and continued. "Ruby for vigor" and "Sapphire for insight". The wind and rain continued to roar above as the boy burst into tears out of confusion. A loose rock slowly began to inch out from from the cavern wall in the darkness above. His father then held his hand over his son's mouth and moved him over another direction and pointed in a direction straight above. "Look" he said smiling as the four gems he had mentioned began to glow four bright colors. They had revealed not only the falling debris, but also their escape ropes dangling. "Taric, if there was one thing you remembered me for, I want you to remember for the rest of your lifetime that gems are truly outrageous". The story speaks for itself as Taric became a more righteous man than even his own father. His light was much brighter than any other star in the sky. A light began to slowly glow brighter while he approached the bottom of the sewer. The pride of the Gem knight had reached its peak hoping his father would shine on him through whatever awaited him. A few more steps and finally he had reached the end. "Squish". Taric had stepped on something that had actually elevated his foot a few inches. He quickly surveyed the area and noticed garbage bags in a river as well as on the sides, a few barrels with skull and crossbones painted on them indicating an obvious poisonous substance within. Candles were lit among the two walkways and while squinting, Taric noticed a strange plain round table at the end of the hallway with flashy beakers cluttering it and a faint laughter in the distance. In another direction a faint call for help was heard and the world's hero nobody knew about sprung into action. As soon as he planned to take a step he was halted by a familiar voice from earlier. "Hey watch where you are stepping!" "That's my food!". Taric looked down and noticed a small green rat with human like features below him wielding a homemade crossbow with the name Twitch carved in . Taric than began "I presume you are Twi-" he was cut off as the rat sprinted towards him trying to lift his foot with little strength. He then quickly leaped back waving his hands in apology and slowly looked underneath his right foot. "Gimme that meatball you idiot!"


	12. Day 12 A Night Worth Stargazing

Day 12. A Night Worth Stargazing.

(March 22 2016)

I want you for a moment to imagine someone that you loved so near and dear to you was taken away in the blink of an eye. I also want you to think about this particular person being the one who had always talked to you, even when you were angry or didn't want to talk in the first place. Just one last time I want you to imagine this person was your partner in crime, your team captain, your coach, and your teacher. You are given one single chance to bring that person back to your side, but instead of being the hero, you are titled as the _cause_. All of these painful thoughts had recently come to life for the poor soul of a young girl. This girl was the only lady of luminosity in all the lands, who went by the name of Lux. She had currently found herself walking a straightforward path in the evergreen forest just outside the city limits and a path of tears followed her as she walked further away from her friends, refusing to even look back. She figured if she was the cause of her friend's disappearance, her opinion shouldn't have even mattered in this situation and wasn't fit to be called a leader. She paused for a moment to pick up a rock in the dirt path and throw it, leaving and echoing trail of sounds throughout the forest. Actions spoke much louder than words and she had made up her and that was that. Her friends she left behind in exchange for an absolute quiet life away from causing problems. In her depression, she had become the opposite of who she originally was known to be and continued to walk the path with one destination in mind. The place where she met Ezreal. It was there she would leave all her remaining memories and begin a new chapter of her life after confronting her problems personally.

While this had all been going on, Wukong the monkey had found himself currently distracted by the city news board with all the popular trending topics on display A few topics included a meeting to vote on whether or not citizens should be allowed to carry concealed weaponry in the city limits with the rising rate of kidnappings. Another topic gave a summary of a recent soccer game where the final goal was scored by the all star player Lucian. Another topic discussed the crimes reported in the city for the 5th day in a row that week. One final discussion talked about the upcoming election for mayor. The two candidates were Todd Drumpling and Billery Clover. As Wukong had become heavily invested in this topic, primarily for the free stuff, a guard who went by the name Garo, noticed his interest. "I believe you are interested in the upcoming election it seems? He said. Wukong has been too busy focused and hadn't noticed them. Again the guard continued determined to get an answer. "The all-important election?" "Concerning the fate of our future?" he said again rapidly tapping on the colorful board. Garo then became frustrated and placed his gloved fist on the picture whilst blocking the entire article. "Hey I was reading that!" He said bouncing up and down. The guard then noticed his tail and spoke with even more anger. "Don't you know who you are talking to?" I am Sergent Garo, chief of the border patrol, and I can easily kick you out!" Wukong was uneffected. "That's great to know, but I just want to read." "Who do you plan on voting for?" Garo asked claiming it was for security purposes. "I don't really know, I'm undecided but I'm kinda leaning towar-" he was abruptly stopped by Garo. "You can't even vote, you are a foreign monkey, no, foreign immigrant with no privileges other than breathing and your opinion means nothing to me!"The guard then chased him out of the city, ironically putting Wukong back on the path he needed to search for Lux. "I just wanted to look at the picture, is that too much to ask?" "Not even for crumpling up the picture!" He grumbled along the way kicking a rock that created echos in the quiet forest.

A noise crackled in the distance. Again it was heard, but louder than before. A bush suddenly began to rustle and in fear it sounded as her heart was echoing loudly throughout the forest. "Thump thump" "Thump thump" and it continued to beat quickly. Was it her own imagination, or a real life event? It was windless. She was soon about to find out as she took a break to breath and sat on a recently cut down log with a sign nailed on titled "resting place". "It's going to be a while before I'm normal again huh?" She said out loud. "Nobody is normal" a voice spoke back out of the forest. Strangely enough, Lux continued the conversation as if it was a normal one. "What do you mean by such words?" She asked kindly. "Keep walking with me, and I'll talk with you all about it and much more" the voice stated. Sensing no evil and a chance for a new _friend_ , she agreed asking in return for the voice to show itself. "Nobody is normal because everyone is perfect in their own way" the voice began. "I am perfect because I'm the best at being me and though it sounds quite silly, it's very true once realized". "Gee, I never really thought of that" the intrigued Demacian girl said. The voice continued, "What brings you into the open hands of nature?" It asked curiously. "I lost a friend" she said slowly. "Simply put, was this friend dear to your heart?" the voice snickered quietly. Without pausing she responded briefly, "yeah, he, he's somebody that I loved, but now is just a memory in my head." Lux quickly rubbed her eyes. The unknown voice easily sensed sadness. "I as well have had a dear friend taken away from me as well." "She was unlike any human on earth, in fact she had heavenly gifts for those who befriended her". Still with teary eyes Lux then asked "Well what happened to her, she seems so perfect!" The voice went silent. A few seconds passed by, "Spirit are you still here?" Lux yelled out. She soon came to the conclusion that it was her own consciousness talking to her as a result of loneliness. Lux steadily began her adventure into the wilderness again knowing that her only friend could be her own voice. "This can be a good thing…right?" She asked herself hoping for a response.

Finally after hours of travel, she came across what appeared to be the remains of a battleground. Two bodies lay at her display and near them seemed to be a being from another world itself. There directly behind her stood a man in rugged clothing containing holes throughout the articles, as if he were a thief. Blood was coming from his hands coating them and her back had been dripping blood onto the green grass blades covering them in a royal blood bright red. The man's face resented an uneasy smile filled with determination and a hint of unstableness. The presumed victim expressed the complete opposite, a facial expression of complete pain, perhaps for the very first time. He looked as if he was comfortable, while the woman had just begun to understand chaos. Lux had stood about 50 feet away from the gruesome scene with a severe look of shock on her own pale face. The celestial being then began to suddenly glow with immense power and a bright shining light then opened upon the man from the sky above. It quickly started glow around his body and began to sear his own flesh cursing his cruelty sending him running and howling in terror leaving the woman behind in pain to reflect upon her very own fate.


	13. Day 13 A Wind In The Woods

Day 13. A Wind In The Woods.

(April 4th 2016)

"I _curse_ you for all it may be worth". "Let the hair on your arms and legs grow as long as the hair of a wild beast, and let your voice become molested by the greatest evil existent, so that everyone shall be observant of your crime!" The fleeing man's escape steadily grew quicker and quicker until he had finally begun to prance on all four arms and legs rather than both feet. Silence then overcame the event, which was soon broken up by the sound of a weeping woman. It was only a slight teary moment however, seeing Lux had quickly ran over to her aid seeing she was the victim. "You...are... _alright_?" She stumbled her words. The celestial glow around the now-seated woman began to vanish. "I'm quite fine thank you" the woman spoke surprisingly calmly to Lux's surprise. Again she stumbled overself, "T..t...that wound in your back, i..it doesn't h..h..hurt at all?!" Again the woman was puzzled, but she laughed due to the curiosity of the young girl. "I do believe I now understand what you speak of". "Take a closer look" she laughed. To Lux's own amazement, the wound had not only healed itself, but it was completely gone without and trace of it ever being there in the first place. Lux's face became pale. "My dear what is your name?" The woman smiled. " _Baffled_ , I...I mean Lux!" She said much too quickly. "What about yours?" "Where I come from, I'm known as Soraka, but you may call me as you so please".

Lux and Soraka discussed their lives, current events, and informed each other of their goals. Soraka explained that man had been a friend to her and the reward of her friendship, while Lux reluctantly attempted to stay away from the past. "My objective is to care for all beings in harm's way" Soraka said while brushing of some dirt. "But" She paused, "I have begun to fear more people are beginning to take advantage of such kindness and I worry something similar will happen like the incident earlier". Soraka aimed at a brighter topic. "Tell me, do you have trustworthy friends?" Lux sighed and then explained her own situation. Soraka hugged her. "Oh you poor thing" She said with her voice muffled in Lux's shoulder. "Have you ever thought of returning to your friends?" She asked politely. "Yea, but I think it might be to late". "They probably are already on the way to save Ezreal and by the time they do, he probably won't even remember me". "The heart will never forget, even while covered up" Soraka smiled. Suddenly a loud yell was heard no more than three hundred feet away. It was off the path and somewhere in the woods and the two decided it would be of their best interest to investigate together. The two went quietly into the trees and were shocked by their discovery. "Look at all these bananas!" Wukong yelled flopping around in a large pile of yellow bananas and peels. Lux covered her face in embarrassment while Soraka chuckled at the monkey. "He's with me Soraka, I guess I couldn't ever get away from them" she smiled to herself. " _Fate_ " Soraka whispered and replied with a smile of her own. Wukong took some time to explain where Yi had gone and that the remaining all had their own tasks, his was to find her. "You are gifted with very good friends Lux." "Don't ever forget such people, even in the darkest times they can be a light for you." Lux friendly tapped Soraka's head, "You don't always have to sound smart".

While these three began to clean the strange pile of bananas, things had begun to go according to plan for a certain individual. Nobody had noticed, but the wind had died and the bushes and trees and gone silent. A twig cracked. " _Attack_!" Yelled a voice and from directly behind them a bond of unknown faces assaulted them without warning. Wukong quickly vanished, leaving Lux and Soraka behind to fend off the invaders, but little did they know they had already lost. Lux grasped her wand and concentrated to cast magic at a particular red headed woman, however in the blink of an eye she had jumped and teleported right next to her holding a dagger to her throat and smiling such with such a devious face. Soraka showed no aggression and gave in to the attackers, laying down her staff with the symbol of a moon and looking at a second individual in the eyes. "What is it you want?" "We have no quarrel with your people and have been traveling our own journey". The old man laughed and looked to his comrade with eyes of evil intention. "I told you guys, strategy is key!" "Always stay one step ahead of your enemies" the older man continued to laugh and wave around his cane. He turned back to Soraka and gave a simple response to her question. "A calculated risk, however a Noxian does not dawdle". "Katerina, go ahead and bring the two to the hideout, I'm going to have to wait her for a moment to speak with our friend who set us up with bananas and more importantly an ingenious plan!" "Not so fast!" A familiar voice yelled. Wukong then reappeared out of thin air and dashed towards the older man with amazing speeds. His staff inched closer and closer towards the old man's head when suddenly everything stopped as another blue hooded figure appeared out of thin air and stole Wukong's weapon and stuck his foot out, leaving Wukong to lay in front of the old man's smile. "Cutting it a bit close there Talon?" The youth filled old man yelled with a sign of annoyance. Talon smirked in response. "Swain, are you going to kill the _supplier_?" Katarina then asked. "If the chance is present, then yes!" Swain chucked once more in evil laughter. Before they could move, the monkey needed the last words of the battle. "Hey old man, you got your thugs doing all the work cause you can't do it yourself haha!" "Silence you fool" Swain's yell echoed throughout the forest. "Let me know when it's your _birthday_ two months in advance so I can get all the candles ready" Wukong bursted out again. Swain's bird seated on his shoulder began to flap and he had dropped his cane to the ground. "Swain, I'm not getting paid to deal with an overgrown baby". "Stick to the plan old man" he grunted. Swain's bird repositioned itself back on his shoulder, and he obtained his yellow cane again and pointed in a direction towards their hideout. His two comrades knew the drill, and escorted the trio away. "Oh and Lux, Ezreal sends his _regards_ " Swain said with one final frightening evil smile. After an hour of travel and silence from all _five_ individuals, they stopped. "Why'd we stop?" Lux asked demanding an answer. "We're here" both Noxians spoke synchronized. Talon tapped his foot on the ground a few times which uncovered an old wooden trapdoor in the ground below which was almost impossible to see anywhere else other than directly above it. The door sprung open on its own and the Noxians directed the three down the latter into the dark abyss below. "Enjoy your stay at the Wall" Katarina laughed to herself. "Prison warden is actually pretty nice, once you get used to her stories of war".


	14. Day 14 The Noxian Ranks

Day 14. The Noxian Ranks

(April 14th 2016)

It was a long way down the simple metal ladder, but as a prisoner of war you had no rights other than free breath and that was something you were always grateful for in the Noxian prison system. The five continued down with both Noxians following _slowly_ behind. The sky became much darker than the never ending candle lit tunnel below them which was a frightful scene itself. Perhaps it was trip itself descending downwards was relatively quiet besides the little pitter patter from Katarina. "Sometimes once a month she'll give you guys an extra biscuit if you are quiet!" Katrina laughed with a hint of unusual joy. The Group of Noxians consisting of Swain, Katarina, and Talon had actually been searching for Lux for months in order to receive their other half of the pay for their contract from an _unknown_ customer. Swain himself was not a mercenary, however he paired up with Talon and Katarina knowing he would be given proper protection and in return he could give them much needed tactics other than throwing knives and daggers around the room. The 1st half required the captivity of Ezreal, which was easily considering he and a few other Demacians being escorted by Pantheon stumbled upon Noxian land earlier that year for a _distress_ call, however it had been a set up.

"Hey Talon" Katarina spoke up, but he gave no response. "Talon…" Katarina then whispered to him, "What are you going to do with your share of the bounty?" "Usually we have received much smaller piles of income but this is almost three times as much, it's enough to even retire." She paused for a moment thinking of how her whole life had revolved around mercenary work. "I'm going to do what I always do, killing, stealing, you know me Kat I'm nothing but a hired knife" Talon quietly spoke back. Katarina's smile became obsolete. "I figured you'd take a week off or go somewhere with your life, visit someplace new other than simply _killing new people_ as you usually reply". He remained quiet for a moment. "Kat, you know what you have that I don't?" "A heart". Katarina pulled Talon's hood, looking at his the back of his head while the group kept climbing down, "Dammit Talon, just because you kill people doesn't mean you don't have a heart, besides what does that have to do with-" "Don't you have somewhere to be" he abruptly stopped her. "What the hell do you mean Talon?" she shouted much louder than her usual whisper "I'm doing my job!". "You have other things to attend to" he simply spoke still looking down. It was no use to argue when he already knew the truth. "Go meet your _Romeo_ ". He sighed and slowly began to climb down again. After the distance between them was about 10 feet she asked him another question. "You're fine with watching them?" she said in another whisper. Talon remained quiet, but she knew Talon used silence to communicate and began to climb back up. "Kat" Talon quickly said. "If we get paid...then I'll buy some new daggers from Bilgewater or Ionia or someplace for off". "I knew you would!" She quickly laughed with energy and headed out towards the midnight surface as Talon held a slight small smirk underneath his padded blue hood.

The captive group of prisoners had managed to separate a decent distance from Talon due to the accidental distraction from Katarina. Though they were alone by themselves, Talon had no worries and quickly slid down the ladder at an incredible speeds with the cold air racing against his face. Even if he didn't make it, he knew the dreadful _prison warden_ would be prepared to greet them and follow regulations as usual. He suddenly thought to himself for a quick moment and ceased his descending movement as an unusual thought had come over him. He could take a break right now if he wanted. Heck, a permanent vacation. A time off from killing and stealing and instead he could go anywhere he chose with just a hint of motivation. Katarina's innocent words had stuck with him for a moment. "Nah" he puffed and took out from his pocket a wanted poster that had recently been put up in the Demacian forest just outside. He had swiped it from an evergreen tree as they had prepared the ambush earlier. It read: "Man missing, short, fancy, and a lot of harmony". "Reward of return shall be an entire week free at the charmed inn as well as a thirty five percent discount at Jayce's Salon". At the bottom it noted: "P.S." "Return his marvelous hammer and I'll make sure to throw in an extra sweet reward just for you!" Talon shook his head in complete disgust and crumpled up the paper. "Too big of a mess for me" he slowly said and chucked the royal paper to the ground outside allowing _nature_ to play with the foreign object. With spare time, he decided it was time to revisit an old past of his own and took an unbeaten path opposite of the hideout.

It's not an idiotic thought to believe Talon has reason behind his gruesome behavior, it began long ago as one of his earliest memories in the darkness of the Noxian underground passages. Living in an unfriendly environment, it was survival of the fittest with only his blade being his true close friend. Saying Talon was a thief at heart was too kind of a description, but it does justice. He rose from nothingness and became one of the three deadliest blademasters in all of Valoran. Among those also were Katarina Du Couteau and her father. His skill was of such brilliance that his blade quickly marked him as a threat and he quickly became the prey of many young and new agents below him wanting to make names for themselves. Even as a Noxian himself, no mercy was shown to his own brethren, leaving bodies behind to remind all of who he really was. The threats became more common and stronger until finally one day he met an opponent of equal strength. To his own " _amusement_ ", Talon was disarmed and found himself facing down his executioner's sword when the assassin revealed himself to be none other than General Du Couteau. The General suddenly offered Talon the choice between death by the sword in his hand, or life as an agent of the Noxian High Command. Talon hastily chose life, on the condition that his service was to Du Couteau alone, for the only orders he found himself respecting were from the one he could not defeat. Talon's story only grows more mysterious from this point on as he carried out secret missions from the shadows that took him all across the lands, from the inner cities of Demacia to the bitter cold of the Freljord, however everything had changed once the general had vanished. Talon soon found himself contemplating the continuation of his orders, but knowing he had never been beaten until now, he chose to track the only person he had respect for. Now present day, knowing the Demacian girl had reached the waiting hands of the warden, he began his own road in search of the important old familiar face.

"Guys!" Wukong abruptly stopped Soraka and Lux on the ladder. "We haven't seen Talon and Katarina in half an hour, don't you see this is our chance to escape!" "I do not believe it's quite as simple as you imagine monkey king" said Soraka calmly declining his idea. "How would we?" Lux questioned his obviously poor planning. "I vanish and scout to see if we can climb up" he proudly said. "And if you find them climbing down expecting us to be in cells?" Lux spoke with sass. "Then I'll climb back down and find some keys or something, we at least have to use the spare time we have to prepare something, they will not just let us walk away free seeing you have a bounty on your head". Soraka and Lux mentally agreed to sarcastically ignore him and began to come up with something to work with. The three slowed their progress and whispered until they finally had reached the wooden floor of the underground prison. Thousands of bronze bars were seen to their surprise. "You will never leave this place" a voice spoke. "Take a cell and make yourself at home, everyone has their own, the time for talk is over." "The Celestial woman needs my help to heal her wounds" Lux said in hope she could arrange two in a cell. "There is no other way" the prison warden said. "Do not lie, and things will go pleasant as they should" a voice directly behind them stood and pushed them into separate open cells. The two jumped forward from the sudden push, only two however as Wukong had vanished again and left a copy of himself further behind to disappear without any trace. "No more hesitation" she laughed creepily. Her character had presented no laughter, or anything for that matter which made her laughter all the more worrying. Locking the cells, the two looked at each other in between the bronze bars knowing this could very be their permanent resting place if Wukong had not carefully planned his actions. All hope was soon lost. "Where is the third?" She asked whilst smiling as if she knew their response. Again, both mentally agreed not to mention Wukong. "Choose your own path I suppose" she muttered and casually reached behind her grasping. Without surprise, she felt and quickly threw the furry individual into a third open cell after holding onto his cloth. Wukong had been reaching for the keys in the prison warden's back pocket, but was just moments short before she had found him. "Oh how I cannot wait to toy with the likes of all you weaklings" she mocked them and left for a short notice and returned with a simple leather sheath without anything inside. "I expect no words spoken, or you will be put behind the wall like the rest of them". She knocked against the stone behind her which left a hollow sound indicating room behind it. "I should explain the wall for such newer individuals". She changed her tone to an even more devious tone. "We needed to build a wall, a wall to keep out all the impure and mutations from such extreme experiments that went wrong." "Trust me when I say I am not afraid to leave you in the hands of the plague beyond the wall". "There are beings quarantined in that area that can do things to you much worse than anything, even worse than the dreadful scenes in a Noxian nightmare".


	15. Day 15 Buried

Day 15. Buried

(May 24 - May 31st 2016)

Without any activities to perform for your own amusement or even the slightest hint of productivity, time progression was incredibly slow. Hours become minutes before your very eyes, however there was at least one thing to listen to besides your own breathing. The Warden's stories. It wasn't easy to expect a pleasant time, but once she promised a story if they'd shut up, it became a much more heavenly place than before. "I've been in wars amongst great nations" she began softly. The three took comfort sitting on the hard as rock beds in their bronze cells. "I've fought for the demonic Noxians as well as the angelic Demacians". Everyone became incredibly confused. Allowing time for the statement to settle, she carried on cautiously. "I tell you this because I have sympathy towards people who do not recognize themselves". "She slowly turned to face the stone brick wall behind her. "Now when I say sympathy, it isn't kindness towards all who are lost, it's somewhat of a sense of respect for those whose stories tell powerful tales about the owner" she said placing her hand on the wall steadily. Her white hair was short and hardly reached the back of her neck. "I have not a single ounce of respect for the monsters behind this wall" she said pounding it once with her fist. She turned back to face them, "The only reason I stand before you today as a Noxian is because I have found it to be my true calling since it's always followed me wherever I have gone to escape it." "One might conclude it's my destiny to continue fighting it, however I feel details of my story might uncover the truth for you people. She paced around with her hands behind her head and slowly began. " _There is a place between war and murder in which our demons lurk.''_

"I became a leader amongst my peers very quickly due to my success as an efficient and ruthless warrior in the lands of Noxus". "Practically a poster child, the High Command recognized me and my black stone rune sword forged and enchanted with deep Noxian sorcery". "My sword was much heavier than a kite shield, (it was either a reverse teardrop shape or flat-topped), yet it became the perfect weapon suited to my tastes". "Soon after recognition from the High Command, I was deployed to Ionia in an invasion intended to take control of the lands and to exterminate all who inhabited the area". She paused for a moment, recognizing the fear in the eyes of the three prisoners. "Noxian soldiers followed the terrifying Zaunite war machines across fields of death, this wasn't the combat I have trained for". "I reluctantly carried out the orders of my superiors, terminating the remnants of a beaten and fractured enemy with extreme prejudice". She softly cleaned her very large green shoulder pads with a simple face. "It became very clear to me that the Ionian society would not be reformed, but instead, merely eliminated". "During one bitter engagement, my unit was surrounded by Ionian forces and we signaled for support as the enemy closed in on it's killers". "We deserved our punishment from the Ionians, however nobody expected what happened next". "What we received instead was a barrage of biochemical terror launched by the cursed man Singed". She turned to hide her sadness. "I watched every human being fell to an unspeakably gruesome fate". "I myself managed to escape the bombardment of chaos, but I will never forget that memory." "After that happened, Noxus figured I was dead and so I began a new life on my own."

"Your new life involves joining Noxus again?" Wukong laughed almost immediately. "Shut up monkey, I walk my own path and I'm not longer held by such extreme Noxian traditions anymore" the warden yelled. "Your past contains honor" Soraka then commented. "Singed is perhaps one of the few reasons why I still exist on earth, to undue all the damage he has created on this planet we all share". "I see" The warden said quietly and recommended they all get some sleep. Before the warden could leave the room Lux quickly spoke up and said "Demacia is always welcoming!" and smiled. "I know" the warden smiled back uneasily, and left to another small room, (the sleeping quarters). Sleep tonight seemed much easier to obtain before and it went by as smoothly as predicted.

The sound of dripping water managed to become comforting as well believe it or not. All was quiet. About an hour later noises became more and more frequent. "You suck!" somebody finally suddenly shouted as the familiar sound of footsteps on the ladder were heard from above. "You didn't follow my plan" another voice shouted in response. Two men then entered the room from the ladder unarmed and with clothes that represented a more western culture. "Who the hell runs this place?" the one with the hat asked. The warden then came in from her door. "Malcolm, Tobias, or should I say, _Graves_ and _Twisted Fate_ , Welcome to the Wall!" "Give me the cell furthest away from that idiot" Graves pointed at one of the three remaining cells which would be separated by an empty one. The two went to their individual cells, and the night had only begun to become much more interesting. "I didn't follow your plan, I can't pull any magic garbage to get myself out of your problems" Graves yelled louder banging on the cell poles. "Well we wouldn't have been in a problem if you had an actual brain instead of just shooting things Malcolm" Twisted fate sighed. "You are the biggest load of crap and your magical toy cards are embarrassing to even be near" Graves boasted louder. "Well, I suppose I could perform better if I didn't have a brick for a _partner_ " Twisted fate chuckled to himself. This argument continued furiously until the warden threatened to behead them. Silence soon overcame the area until another _criminal_ was led in by the annoyed warden from the usual ladder at the far side of the room. This individual wore very little clothing , however what she wore was apparently all she needed it seemed. Her purple skin was very unique and difficult to notice in the poorly lit cell she was soon placed in. The warden then read out loud from a scroll. "Twisted Fate and Graves". "Crime, public disturbance in the Noxian city of Croy". She laughed to herself. "Says here that you shot guns, used explosives, and even teleported into an elderly man's home". She looked up from her report to see them throwing small pebbles at each other. "Okay my little baby boys, unless you want to end up like the little skull next to me, you can behave like grown men, or is that too easy?" she said sarcastically slow. Then she looked slowly towards the quiet woman. "Evelyn, murder again?" she sighed. Evelyn smiled as she stretched softly. Evelyn had a history of escaping her confinement wherever she had been and usually returned a few days later. "I killed the clown" she said very softly with a smile. "Noxus is the biggest wasteland I've ever stepped in" T.F. said while seating himself. "Criminals are welcomed in the streets and you see blood painted on the walls Graves added." "Then why are you two anywhere near it?" Lux suddenly asked after hearing enough. Twisted fate stood up and turned to her in his cell. "Money" he said rubbing two fingers against each other. "Aye" Graves nodded. "Fame and fortune as bounty hunters". "Is getting caught usually part of your plan?" the warden asked sarcastically. Twisted Fate grinned at Graves, "No ma'am" he added and sat down again. He noticed Evelyn eyeing him and tilted his hat slowly while sporting a grin.

Again all was calm. The warden had all six cells full and was having fun being the boss amongst the six. All seven spent the night engaged in conversation, except Evelyn who had become more invisible than before. It wasn't so bad until all hell broke loose. "Thunk". A sharp impact was heard above. "Thunk, thunk" was heard again faster than before. A muffled voice from the surface shouted. More prisoners perhaps? Lux thought to herself. The warden cocked her head for a moment and the noise stopped. "Oh no!" she shouted in a sudden quick reaction the warden sprinted towards a direction indicating incredible agility, but it was too late. "Bang" The ceiling suddenly broke open with dirt and grass pouring into the hideout amongst all the cells and the floor sending everyone for cover and shielding their eyes. Twisted Fate covered his face in his hat while Graves found himself shielding half his body with his strong arms and stood still in the dust. Lux and and Soraka crouched to avoid the dust pouring into their cells and to obtain a better view of the large hole that had just opened. Amongst all this nobody had noticed Wukong and Evelyn had vanished in all the confusion. "ANOTHER!" A voice shouted from a silhouette slowly walking down into the room from above. "Yar ha har we meet again lassy!" a bearded face shouted pointing his blunderbuss pistol at the warden 15ft away. "Don't ye be reaching for your sword now!" He laughed and walked towards the sword she had been reaching for and stepped on her hand. He picked it up and paused for a moment. "Ye be reaching for a sword that's already broken?" "That makes me job twice as easy!" he burst out with more laughter.

"What's it say here hmm" he said to himself in observation of her sword. "Riven?" he said in discovery with a wicked smile. "A broken blade is more than enough for the likes of you!" she yelled in a flurry of punches directed at the pirate. Quickly he jumped back and pulled the trigger of the gun which released a powerful shot that flew at her, but it missed her athletic ability as she jumped and flipped in the air and landed next to him. "Atta girl!" He shouted at her and drew for his cutlass, but was stopped in his progress. Riven had already gotten her sword and held it up to his throat. A light had been shining over the two from the sun peering into the new hole in the earth. The showdown contained an unlimited amount of potential. "Riven let him go" Graves then demanded. To her surprise, he had already broken out and had been aiming his shotgun he had gotten from the weapon shack by the stone brick wall. "Your _new destiny_ is in my hands" he suggested. "How did had he already gotten out" She asked herself. She did as she was told and set her weapon down. "What is it you want pirate?" She asked. "Captain". "Captain Gangplank be the name Riven, perhaps you should learn that unless yee want to be buried here right now haha!". Pacing around the buried prison with a jingle from the coins in his pocket, he examined his enemy in true pirate fashion. "I'll be taking ye sword too, must be worth something to somebody" he claimed sliding it smoothly into one of his pockets. He turned to the bounty hunters. "Come with me and we can discuss some business opportunities" he laughed as before. "And take the booty with you, I hear there is a hefty bounty on her head too" he said pointing his sword towards Lux. And so Lux left the cell as a hostage instead of a prisoner, leaving Soraka behind and Wukong wherever he had ran off to.

After everyone had left, it had just been Gangplank standing in front of Riven while Soraka was still in her cell. "Gangplank stop this nonsense, nobody needs to be fighting right now" Soraka pleaded, but he had already made up his mind. "It's been a great time Riven, but I live a pirate's life" he said cautiously scrubbing his pistol in a grim voice. "I can't be having foes like you sailing the seas after me!" he said and pulled the trigger. The bullet entered near the upper right portion of her chest, not killing her, but enough to make her yell in pain. "Survive this, and you'll need a lot of rum" he added and walked back to the surface above. She went down to one knee and held her hands against the wound in agony. "You will never get away with this Gangplank!" "Somebody will come after you" Soraka said in oblivious anger, but it made no difference. "Best of luck to ye" were the last words heard from him as he jingled slowly away. A few miles away from the forest was a coast in which Gangplank's ship was located. Once everybody had climbed aboard and the crew had finished preparations and cheering for the treasure, he gave the call. "Set sail for Bilgewater!"


	16. Day 16 Sea Of The Madmen

Day 16. Sea Of The Madmen

(June 1st - August 8th 2016)

It had been three long tiring hours at sea since Lux had experienced arguably the most memorable moment in her life. It had all started that early morning, when she had received orders from a crew mate instructing her to dress as a pirate during the voyage. While she found no real reason behind this, it was best to avoid upsetting Gangplank. She was given half an hour to be ready for the man tasked to gather her previous Demacian clothing. As she switched, she noticed many seagulls diving in after fish and flying out of the water with fish. "Breakfast sounds nice" She thought softly to herself.

Even on calm waters like today the ship's rocking could still be felt underneath anyone's foot. For a ship as big as Gangplank's, it certainly was run by fifty crew members at the very least, however the main deck was completely empty. Not a single soul in sight besides a lookout above in the crow's nest. Lux shut the door.

"The pirate will be here soon enough and I can relax I suppose" she said calmly as she looked outside at the teal smooth waves crashing against each other.

"Thunk". A loud noise was heard against the back of the door.

"Uh what was that?" Lux asked outloud cautiously.

Again it was heard but perhaps even louder than before.

"Hello!" "Is there anyone out there trying to get in?" "Just…just answer me and I'll open the door" she said again nervously.

"What if the ship was attacked by Noxus because they betrayed their agreement?" "I can't go there, then I'll never get home!"

She began to imagine the battle she could have missed in her sleep, but it didn't make any sense.

"There must be a sorcerer, there has to be!" With no means of defending herself, it made no sense to keep the noise a mystery any longer and she approached the door slowly.

"Worst case scenario, I jump out the window" she said to herself with courage.

As she began to turn the door handle she heard a grumbling directly on the other side of the door. Slowly, the door was pulled open to reveal a rather large body lying face down on the deck of the mighty wooden ship _Dead pool_.

"Did you...no...were you running into the door sir?" Lux asked the strange purple skinned muscular body.

"Ugh, door did not open for Mundo". "Mundo use head instead" he said slowly rising up from the deck.

"Did you seriously think just ramming your head into the door like a battering ram would open it?" She looked around outside noticing nobody on deck, it was too much to believe.

"Mundo always open doors with big head, Mundo is strong guy with strong head" he said tapping his blocky shaped head.

"Haven't you ever heard of knocking?" Lux asked once more trying to get an intelligent-like answer, but it was no use".

"Is knocking little headbuts?" he asked with a disturbing smile.

Lux began to laugh in amazement of her discovery. She had seen lots of unusual things, but had never met someone with such little intelligence. Mundo once even reached for her clothes while she was still in them, and you could imagine the result.

"Pervert!" Lux screamed and Mundo began waving his arms around and tossing things around.

"Why are you messing up my room now?" "What else do you have planned blockhead?" she continued to yell loudly.

"Mundo do not like loud noise!"

"I'm surprised you know what loud noises are" she sighed lightly.

The waves were calm.

After reorganizing her quarters, she peered out the door again, however still no pirate was in sight.

"Mundo, where are all the pirates?" Lux asked politely.

"Oh Mundo is pirate!" "Mundo right here!" he said bouncing up and down.

"Other pirates Mundo" "Like the captain, or the crew mates."

"Mundo does not not where they go when whistle blows"

"Whistle" she thought to herself. Must be a meeting somewhere, perhaps the captain's quarters be the place!"

"Did I just obtain a pirate accent?" she paused. "Cool".

"Mundo, would you like to go on an adventure?" she said as a nanny speaks to a kid.

"Mundo only listen to pirates" he shook his head.

She motioned him out of the room for a second, shut the door, and put on the pirate crew clothing. Then she reopened it.

"Yar Mundo, I be looking for me own crewmate to go on ye adventure with" "Would ye be me mate on the voyage to treasure?" she said with a fake smile.

"Mundo wants to go!"

"Good". Her plan had begun to take shape.

With great speed and cunning, the two crept towards the starboard side of the ship in search for a rowboat. With this, she and her new "crewmate" could attempt to escape Gangplank's grip and be spotted by the Demacian patrol boat _Romero_ that regularly sailed this particular body of water.

Just as expected a few boats were scattered on the side of the boat and Mundo easily picked one up raising it above his head carefully. Originally her plan upon boarding the ship was to escape by either swimming or stealing a lifeboat at night, but this couldn't have gone any better. Before any more successful actions however, the pirates finally arrived..

"Mundo!" "What in Davy Jones Locker are yee doing with mee rowboat!" Gangplank furiously shouted waving his pistol around in the air. The crew was oblivious to the fact Lux had been standing behind the big bodied abomination.

"Mundo heard pirate ask to go on adventure" he said proudly.

The bounty hunters, Twisted Fate and Graves, then finally arrived after showing up a minute or two later. "Boy Gangplank, you give your crew free vacations too?" Graves chuckled a few feet away.

"How about we sign that contract right now?" "I've been wanting to visit Sharima for a long time, maybe get myself a new deck of, _magic cards_ , Twisted Fate joked."

"Enough!" Gangplank shouted and fired a shot from his pistol into the darkening sky above.

The waves began to come back to life.

The Captain of the ship began to walk a step at a time throwing continuess insults at his rogue pirate.

"What point of useless don't you understand?"

"I control your destiny, your fate, every single thing about you Mundo."

"You are of no importance to me, and I gave yee a chance already to sail with me to enjoy an easy life, only a chance though." he said reloading his pistol with black gunpowder.

Mundo's veins became visible throughout his entire body and a new one appeared for every step Gangplank took. It was then he had discovered his true purpose.

Before being apart of the crew, he had lived in Noxas for thirty years. During this time, he became a living mad scientist, testing experiments on innocent animals and killing them as a means of learning. He had not only done all this, but he had even committed an even more gruesome sin. He murdered his parents. Soon afterwards he decided this was not enough to sooth his own sick pleasures, it was then Mundo began to test on his own body, realizing he could be his greatest subject yet. Shortly after he began work, he increased his pain tolerance and even manipulated his own brain to focus on his body's strength, rather than anything else. However, a side effect of all of this was his loss of proper speech.

The disappearance of Mundo's parents eventually became noticed and soon letters and knocks were frequent, mainly from tax collectors. Though his speech presented differently, Mundo wasn't an idiot. He quickly left his home and hid moving from alleys to sewers all across Noxus in order to save himself from being captured and ironically, tested on.

As always, the greatest pirate captains always searched far and wide for the baddest souls that tread the earth. Sooner or later he heard rumors of a madman who couldn't feel pain and the rest is history.

But all emotions aside, Gangplank couldn't have a crew member just leaving with his property whenever, it's bad reputation, and he took this as a chance to teach his crew a lesson, including the bounty hunters.

"Who gave you permission to leave the ship Mundo?" Gangplank said softly.

"Mundo went to get clothes and pirate girl told me I could leave."

"What pirate girl?" "There be no pirate girl on mee ship you idiot!" he shouted.

"Oh I see" he stopped. "It'd be that dreaded Demacian girl, she's already given me enough trouble finding her in the first place." "Find her and bring her here" he instructed a few crew mates.

He stepped a foot closer and drew his cutlass from his pocket.

"The kill mark be ninety three now, I suppose I can add two or three kills for the size of yee" he said with a grin of intimidation.

Mundo slowly stepped back prompting Lux to as well, they soon found themselves at the edge of the starboard side.

The water had begun to stir.

"I never bothered to ask ye, but how do ye feel about swimming Mundo?"

Mundo's arms began to twitch while he still held this boat high above his head.

"Gangplank the boy still has that boat remember, I'd back up a few feet before something goes wrong" Twisted Fate spoke up.

"Quite!" "I be the only captain of this ship" Gangplank spoke as he held the point of the cutlas to the purple chest.

"Can you truly endure more pain than I can inflict?" he spoke softly and drove his cutlass into his chest, plunging it as far as it could go.

A shriek of pain let out from Mundo as he motioned to furiously swing the boat at the captain.

"Gangplank!" Twisted Fate shouted hurling a card in Mundo's direction stunning him in his actions before the pirate king.

"You dare even attempt to harm me?" Gangplank scoffed twisting and turning his cutlass trying to remove it from Mundo's mutated chest.

He quickly reached for his pistol to finish things, but suddenly a barrel of gunpowder slid by knocking it out of his hand and it fell over the ledge of the ship. Nobody had noticed until now that they had been sailing into the eye of a storm at sea.

"We need to sail the opposite direction" Graves spoke up and convinced a few crew members to agree and speak in high volume.

Gangplank leaned back and rushed at Mundo to shove him off the rocking boat, but before he could do that a massive crash in the front of the ship shook him off balance and he fell prone to the deck of the ship.

He stood up slowly waving to the lookout in the crow's nest for a report.

Then, out of the dark blue sea a teal tentacle reached out from the abyss and swung at the ship smashing the mast.

Gangplank reached for his hat and held it in both hands near his knees.

"The gods have been disturbed!" he solemnly cried out.

"All hands available, man the cannons!" he shouted out in his true position.

The Wind and rain rushed all throughout the sea, the remains of wood were being disposed of into the sea and men ran around the ship handling cannon balls and bags of gunpowder as the sea rocked the ship back and forward.

Mundo's massive hands still remained tightly gripped on the rowboat scratching the wood with the amount of pressure he applied.

"I've had enough of this crap" Graves said approaching Mundo and Gangplank's duel.

"Duck or I'll blow your head off" he shouted at Gangplank which he did do.

The impact of bullets propelled the muscular man over the railing and off the side of the ship into the blue abyss, still stunned from the effect of Twisted Fate's card. This propulsion immediately sent Lux also flying down as well.

Gangplank pulled himself up from the ground and peered over the edge of the ship to see only the ship with bloodied Demacian clothing in it. At this time the men Gangplank had sent to search for Lux came back with no luck, which led him to one conclusion.

"The sea has found her before us."


	17. Day 17 Journey's Relief

Day 17. Journey's relief

(September 18th - December 15th 2016)

The storm had inflicted many casualties that day, leaving crew of the Deadpool stranded amongst the ocean, but they still had their life unlike the poor souls washed away with the sea. A total of 41 men were written down as dead or missing as well as 13 casualties were inflicted amongst the remaining crew members. The crow's nest had been destroyed, along with the ship's largest sail and any mortal underneath it's crushing weight. Debris were scattered everywhere amongst the ship as the captain stood amongst it all, as if not shaken. The ship was still seaworthy.

The bounty hunters, Twisted Fate and Graves did as much as they could, clearing and repairing what was necessary. After a few hours of repairs, the ship sailed to what was a small island to set up camp and serve the remaining rations found throughout the ship. A small fire and whatever rough sacks remained were all that was prepared during the silent night. The stars shown themselves tonight, perhaps so many were numerous as if they were the souls of the deceased leaving the earth.

After sometime has passed, Graves abruptly stood up from the campsite and walked throughout the small camp.

"Where's Gangplank" he asked

It wasn't hard to locate Gangplank as the island was small with little vegetation amongst it. Before Graves stepped any closer, Gangplank already had his answer.

"You'll get your gold once we reach port" he said solemnly.

"How much" Graves asked grinning.

"What I deem appropriate" Gangplank said carefully.

"What you deem?!" "I wasn't told about any storms from the gods or any celestial magic, all I heard from you was "Accompany me on my voyage to catch a little lost Demacian girl".

"Several hundred gold pieces for her capture alive is written in the contract" Gangplank said raising his voice.

"Add several hundred more to that after saving your life from your damn rogue pirate" Graves shouted back.

A few moments passed before his reply. "And what of it" he rose from his seated position upon a rock. "And what of it" he repeated again. He started to walk towards the water's edge.

"I'll give ye your money after I pay all everyone else, I'll treat you as I would them all, you don't simply get more in advance because you carry a big gun" Gangplank rambled on.

He reached into his pockets and grouped together a few gold coins in his hands.

"Here be Belden's payment, he was hired for a small 50 gold pieces" he said raising the gold above his head in his closed fist right hand.

He then tossed it into the water.

"Next be Lydon's" he said repeating the same process as before until he finally got to Graves's gold.

He motioned to proceed the same actions, until Graves slapped the gold out of his hands.

Gangplank took a bite of his orange with a small smile full of black and gold teeth.

"Forget it, I expected too much from a corrupted pirate." "I'm taking one of your damn boats and leaving" Graves said turning the other direction.

"Wait" the captain quickly said.

"Ye best not leave without forgetting this" he motioned into his pocket and pulled out a cigar.

"You're a tough son of a gun Gangplank".

"You deal with a lot of death, see a lot of blood".

"Fills me pockets full of gold though" Gangplank laughed his familiar pirate laugh.

"Keeps the men off the streets" he laughed a few more times.

"I'll be seeing you again sometime?" Gangplank grinded with confidence.

"If the gold is real we'll strike a deal" Graves spoke back.

"Where will you go now from here?" Gangplank honestly spoke.

"No idea" Graves laughed. "I don't plan on fighting any krakens anytime soon".

"It gives a man good scurvy" Gangplank scoffed.

"Best of luck to ye" he said handing him his cigar.

Twisted Fate noticed Graves heading his direction and walked over to join his partner.

"What's the plan?" He asked cautiously"

"We're leaving" Graves said with a grin.

"What why!?" Twisted Fate raised his voice.

"Why not"

"Did you shoot him? Did you shoot anybody or anything?"

"No"

"Then why?"

"Because Gangplank gave me back my cigar" Graves said calmly stopping to ignite his cigar with a lighter.

"How does finding a lost cigar from a pirate captain on an island in the middle of nowhere compel one of the most stubborn men on the planet to just drop everything and leave?"

Twisted Fate paused

"Do you remember how much gold he was promising?"

"Not enough"

"What do you mean not enough!?" "We both could've retired and had families and hired our own bounty hunters".

Twisted Fate became furious. "So how do you plan on leaving without a ship then?" "We just walk off?" "Do you want me to use my magic cards and teleport us to a safe hotel?"

"We're using a rowboat" Graves coughed.

"A row boat, that's just great, and who's going to row most of the way like always?"

"I will this time, all the way to land" Graves said casually shocking his partner.

The two walked for a little distance without saying anything before Twisted Fate began to talk to himself.

"We could've built a really big _rowboat_ with all that money" he sighed.

As Gangplank's crew told their tales at night and sang to ease the journey of the souls in the sky, the captain found himself boarding his ship once more before midnight struck. It was as if it has pulled him in. He entered a few of the crew's quarters, noticing many letters addressed to loved ones away. Though he has no fear, it hadn't meant he had not a single hint of sympathy. He planned to return a few of the deceased crew letters, for a price of course. After reviewing a few he then entered the room Lux was held hostage in. The day replayed itself in an instant in his head. He then notice a quick glimmer in a corner as the moonlight reflect off of something at the correct angle. Lux's necklace. Engraved was "For my beautiful daughter" upon further inspection. He held the necklace with two fingers examining it from every angle thinking of the price he could ransom it for until finally he clenched it in his hand instantly, crushing it with sounds of glass exploding throughout his palm.

As of the mage herself, she still lay adrift at sea in the blood stained boat that Mundo carried upon his head. Tears filled her eyes partially symbolizing she had been crying for sometime. Tears of sorrow, defeat, and fear, they all left her bitter and broken. For a time, she had held a slight chance of hope near and dear to her heart. She longed to return home to her friends and family and hear the rejoice of crowds upon her return, but no longer was that the dream of choice, now her choices came from a large selection of nightmares, none of them pleasing in any sense.

A splash of water was heard far out in the black view upon the water's surface, too far to been seen what made the noise. Suddenly the splashes became louder as they were coming closer, and there were more of them from every direction until silhouettes of shapes became somewhat visible. Pillars began springing up from the water, but they were living pillars, swaying from side to side. Tentacles. Four of them sprung up, two on each side still swaying from side to side in the same coordinated motion until one final teal tentacle lifted the boat itself high into the air as Lux held on tight within the wooden ship. Bubbles began to sound from the water's surface indicating something else was going to arrive. Something like the shape of a woman began to slowly arise from the water until she stood upon the water's surface herself. Broad shoulders and a very masculine posture, she spoke with a low tone vibrating the water around the two. The moonlight shone upon her dark skin and long black hair.

"Do not fear no longer mortal, for I am no foe of you". She spoke loudly.

"I've seen many men and women upon these waters, so many I could not count, and not one of them has come close to the courage of your's".

"I am impressed, please tell me your name, so that I may remember the mortal who impressed a goddess" she spoke kindly but in powerful fashion.

"I am Lux of Demacia, also known as _the Lady of Luminosity._ "

"Thank You, your kindness pleases me" the goddess spoke once more.

"I show no pity for the _man_ that gave his body for you today, for his crimes are more than any list could contain, he emitted evil amongst my waters and I awoke to find what caused the disturbance amongst the area".

"I can however tell you he has been shown mercy, being given a swift death instead of enduring a slow, painful, and unpreventable end from the water's grasp.

"Tonight, I shall aid you in your cause, as I see you need a bit of guidance in your times of trouble".

"Though I cannot come with you, I will aid once, and once only" the goddess smiled.

"What shall I remember you by?" Lux stood without fear.

"Remember the name Illaoi" she said slowly raising two tentacles higher from the water behind the boat and then swinging them with massive force propelling the boat forward into the darkness that awaited her.

"Thank you" Lux said softly holding a closed fist to her chest.

Elsewhere in the world, a wise man found himself staring at the task before him. The mists of the mountain fluttered gracefully amongst it, encircling it leaving only the tip untouched. It stood tall, several hundred feet in elevation ahead of a small pathway leading up the mountain. Snow lay atop the mountain as the of the surface was dull grey. The vegetation surrounding it was all dead. No life was present of this plot of land for hundreds if not thousands of miles unless you counted the man present.

Reaching into his back pocket, the explorer pulled out a very detailed map full of tips about the surrounding area. A large puff of steam and electricity was discharged behind him.

"The adventure here was but nothing of importance at this point, what matters most is the awakening of the true machine herald".

" The man looked straight ahead.

"Let us begin" Yi said.


End file.
